On where else he was recruited “The big one was South Dakota State. The other ones were just partial scholarships.”

On why he decided to walk on at Nebraska “I think it was mostly after my parents met with Coach (Tom) Osborne. They were in awe when they met him. The whole academic side of what Nebraska has to offer and getting a career started after playing football was the big thing that sold me.”

On his favorite nickname for ‘the play’ “I guess one of the funny ones on Twitter was the Husky Hail Mary. There was like a big ordeal with how I looked in my rib protector. It made me look like I was 280. That adds 10 lbs., plus the camera.”

On if he was surprised that Northwestern didn’t bring more pressure on the final play “I was surprised the entire drive actually that they didn’t bring more than three. It worked the one play though where 98 got between the center and the guard and sacked me. I thought for sure they were going to blitz on the four seconds we had left.”

On waiting for the guys to get downfield before he threw the pass “Basically, I just wanted to get away from the Northwestern d-linemen. Buy some time for the guys to actually get down there for an attempt for the Hail Mary. All the credit goes out to the offensive linemen for giving me the time to setup and throw the ball and then the effort and dedication that the receivers had down there, to get a tip and then (Jordan) Westerkamp, to be the hero that he is, catch and hang on to the ball.”

On it feeling like the play took forever“It felt like I was out there for an eternity. When I watched it on replay, it looked like it took two seconds, but going through the motions it felt like it took forever.”

On what made him decide to take off in the opposite direction to celebrate“Basically I blacked out. I noticed that Jordan Westerkamp was getting harassed and tackled by everyone else, so I didn’t want to be involved in the dog pile. You could ask (Jeremiah) Sirles – he had a panic attack. I’m kind of claustrophobic. The other thing was I couldn’t actually believe we made the play. Not too many people can say they accomplished a Hail Mary for a game-winning touchdown. I’m still in awe today.”

On where he went after the play “I talked to the Army guys on the sideline. Hung out with them for a little bit. Saw a couple of my teammates’ parents and hung out with them. Saw my mom, brother and sister and hung out with them. Then I was being harassed because the Big Ten (Network) wanted to interview me, so then I did that. Taylor (Martinez) then came out and we had a hug for like 35 minutes. Then I finally went in the locker room. It was a total bromance moment. We’ve been friends for a long time now, including roommates. He just told me that it was a play that he will never forget and that he’s glad I’m his teammate and that we’ve been such close friends.”

On who he heard from after the game“Yea, Larry the Cable Guy said I gave him a heart attack. Gabrielle Union said I look like Byron Leftwich’s long-lost twin. SportsCenter said I was built like a long snapper but had a rocket for an arm. It’s a long list of stuff.”

On being a Nebraska native and having this special moment“It’s something I will never forget, ever. I was told it was the first ever Hail Mary in Memorial Stadium, so that’s cool for a historic piece of it. I’m just glad all my friends and family were able to witness it. Hopefully it stays in the record books for a while.”

On the motivation it gives to the team going forward“I think there is a lot of momentum that be built off of it. Especially for our defense, that play is irrelevant if they didn’t get that goal line stand to hold them (Northwestern) to a field goal. There were a lot of mistakes we made on the offensive side of the football, especially with the interceptions. But, that’s something Tommy (Armstrong Jr.) and myself can fix going forward into Michigan. We’d like to get everybody healthy. We lost a couple people in the game on Saturday, but we still have to push forward because we still have four games left.”

On getting ready for the Big House“Basically, we just need to treat it as another game. The Big House is a historic place, but we have a job to do. It’s business as usual when we leave here. We just want to get our game plan down. Get out all the flaws and kinks of what happened against Northwestern and get a victory in the Big House.”

On how many times he’s seen the final play“Four. Four times. Saw it on SportsCenter. The news and then on YouTube.”

On what he said to Tommy Armstrong Jr.“No one’s perfect. I even threw a pick. We need him as a leader. At the quarterback position, you never want to put your head down to show that you’re defeated because that usually brings down the momentum of everyone else on the team. But he’s young and he’s still learning. He has a long career ahead of him and we’re going to need him for the next four Big Ten games. It’s crucial that he understands what happened on Saturday and move on from it.”

On Coach Pelini saying Tommy Armstrong Jr. was the starter for Michigan and if he is okay with that“Yea, that’s fine with me. I’ve been fine with it this entire season. I understand the whole status of it. He’s going to be the starting quarterback for who knows how long, so might as well get his time in now. Whenever we need a spark or whatever, I’ll be happy to step in and do that.”

On what he remembers about The Big House“What I noticed is that it is really quiet. You would think that with all those people it would be really loud, but I guess the design of the stadium is so flat that it can’t embrace any noise into the stadium. So I guess that’s the most surprising thing.”

On Ameer Abdullah making the 4th-down conversion“Ameer is the ultimate check-down option. Just his ability to make people miss and get the tough yards, especially when we need it. I noticed they didn’t really cover him that much during the whole drive. So getting the ball in his hands was a big priority for us.”